Bag A Rolex Bubble Before The Clocks Go Back At EBay Lost Time Auction

Tired of wasting time trying to persuade Rolex, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe retailers to put you on their waiting lists for the hottest watches?

eBay is coming to the rescue with a Lost Time auction designed to give you those precious hours back.

It is holding the timed sale on Sunday, when the clocks go back, so you get 25 hours to bid online for a spectacular line-up of 12 pre-owned watches including a chocolate dialled rose gold Patek Philippe Aquanaut, a Rolex Oyster Perpetual with bubble dial and a Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time.

The market for second hand watches has been transformed over recent years by a combination of lengthening waiting lists for popular references and rising trust in secondary market operators.

eBay has been at the vanguard of building this trust, particularly through its Authenticity Guarantee, which sees every watch bought for over £1,500 inspected by an expert on its way from a seller to a buyer.

New Opinium Consumer Research of 1,000 adults who have bought a luxury watch over in the past three years has found that almost half (46%) of watch enthusiasts have bought a second-hand luxury watch over new in the past three years.

Of those, 44% said they went to the pre-owned market because they were able to find rarer and more unique models.

Around one-third said that supply shortages and long waiting lists are barriers to buying the watches they want.

Sunday’s Lost Time eBay auction aims to at least solve the issue of availability for some of the most desirable watches of this decade.

“We hope that this special 25-hour auction, timed for when the clocks change, will reimburse this lost time with the opportunity to bid on twelve standout watches from both recent and past years, all in one unique auction,” says Keith Metcalfe, director of luxury at eBay Europe.

Watches for the sale were selected after studying eBay data for signs of what customers have been searching for on the site.

For example, searches for ‘Rolex Yellow Gold’, ‘Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch’ and ‘Cartier Tank’ increased by 30%, over 35% and over 45% respectively on eBay in the past year.